This article, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, presents the protocol for the Healthy Living Environments work stream within the Joint Action PreventNCD. It describes how 51 interventions in 17 countries will address local determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the life course, focusing on settings such as municipalities, schools, workplaces and health services.
The study uses a tailored Community Action for Health (CAH) methodology, structured in preparatory, implementation and evaluation phases. Interventions target health determinants like urban design and access to green spaces, as well as NCD risk factors including tobacco, alcohol, diet and physical inactivity. The pilots are organised into four thematic clusters: Healthier Communities, Healthy Urban Environments, Reducing the availability of unhealthy products and Baby-friendly Community Health Services. Some pilots test new activities, while others adapt established best practices to new local contexts, with shared learning used to identify strengths, limitations and opportunities.
The protocol also outlines a common evaluation framework and a web-based capacity-building platform that will host tools, training materials and the 11-step CAH guide. Together, these elements aim to build sustainable local infrastructures for health promotion, support intersectoral collaboration and reduce health inequalities. The authors describe this work as a “European laboratory of health promotion experiences,” designed to close the gap between research and practice and to foster social innovation in health.
Read the full article in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health